Form mutually beneficial partnerships with community organizations, community leaders and other trusted messengers to co-create engagement, outreach and decision-making processes. Assess frontline community needs and strengths. Elevate diverse voices and community priorities to inform policies, programs and projects.

STRATEGIES

EQ-4.1 Identify and connect with existing, trusted community leaders who serve as representatives of their community’s needs and priorities. Formal or informal community leaders could include:

• Faith leaders
• Schools officials
• Leaders of community organizations
• Cultural group leaders
• Student and youth leaders

EQ-4.2 Conduct outreach to community members and leaders when there are opportunities for public input in current decision-making processes.

EQ-4.3 Create opportunities early in decision-making processes for frontline community members to help shape the vision and plan for infrastructure, adaptation and mitigation projects that affect their community.

EQ-4.4 Include frontline community members in regular comprehensive reviews of critical infrastructure, such as wastewater and stormwater infrastructure, even in the absence of resident complaints.

EQ-4.5 Develop participatory budgeting processes for resiliency investments.

EQ-4.6 Identify and engage with community-based organizations to establish and maintain partnerships, trusting relationships and social capital in the community.

EQ-4.7 Co-design, implement and evaluate processes, strategies and materials with communities regarding climate issues that can be shared by trusted partner organizations and that align with community priorities. Choose facilitators through community input.